SUSPICION
Bobby had wandered up into the bow one day and had seated himself on the
deck, with his back resting against a huge coil of rope. The motion of
the vessel had almost lulled him to sleep when he was abruptly brought
back to consciousness by voices near him. They belonged to Captain
Garrish and to Takyak, who were deep in a heated debate.
“You’ve got to give me the map, I tell you!” exclaimed the former, in an
angry voice. “At least, you’ve got to let me look at it and give me a
chance to get my bearings. I’ve steered the course you gave me long
enough in the dark, and now I want proof that I’m not on a wild-goose
chase.”
The Eskimo spoke a broken kind of English that it was almost impossible
for any one not acquainted with him to understand. But Bobby caught the
drift of his garbled talk well enough. He admitted that he had a chart
of some kind, and Bobby made out the words “gold” and “wreck.” But it
seemed that the old fellow did not have any too much confidence in
Captain Garrish, and refused to let him see the map until they were
among his own people. He clung stubbornly to this idea, and all the
captain could say seemed to have no effect on him. At length Captain
Garrish seemed to give up the argument for the time being.
“Well, I suppose there’s no use talking to you any more!” he exclaimed
viciously. “It seems impossible to change that mule’s head of yours, so
I suppose I’ll have to await your convenience. But if you’ve been
deceiving me about this treasure ship, look out for yourself when I find
it out, that’s all.”
Takyak protested vehemently that he was telling the truth, and at length
seemed to convince the captain.
“Well, well, have it your own way,” Captain Garrish exclaimed
impatiently. “I’m going to have a look at that new anchor while I’m
here,” and he brushed past the Eskimo and the next moment had discovered
Bobby.
His face darkened with sudden suspicion and anger, and Bobby leaped to
his feet, believing that the captain was about to attack him.
“Were you spying on us, Bobby Blake?” he inquired in a hard voice. “I
know you were!” he exclaimed, before Bobby could say a word in his own
defense. “How much did you hear? Come now, out with it!”
“Well, I heard about everything you said,” admitted Bobby, with no
attempt to wriggle out of his unpleasant position. “I heard you talking
about some kind of a treasure ship. But that’s no more than Takyak
hinted to us himself a long time ago. I wasn’t spying on you, anyway. I
was dozing here, and your voices woke me up. How could I know that you
two would be talking over a secret in this part of the ship?”
The captain seemed half convinced, but he still regarded Bobby with a
look of sullen suspicion.
“The damage is done, now, and there’s no use crying over it,” he said at
length. “How much of this do your friends suspect?”
“Pretty near the whole thing,” said Bobby, frankly. “Although, of
course, it’s only been guesswork up to now,” he added.
“Well, I don’t want a word of this to get to the crew,” went on the
captain. “If they once got the idea in their heads that we were after
treasure, there’s no telling what they might do. Tell your friends to
keep their own counsel, and see that you do the same. If word of it gets
about, I’ll know where to place the blame.”
“You can be sure we won’t say anything about it,” answered Bobby. “Don’t
forget we’re not on this boat because we want to be. We’d be only too
happy if you’d put us on some homeward-bound vessel.”
“Well, maybe I will,” said Captain Garrish, but in his heart he had now
no such intention. He had meant to before, as he was anxious to have the
boys off his vessel, but now he resolved to keep them aboard at all
costs. If he let them go, they might tell others of the treasure, and he
knew how quickly such news flies about. When Bobby learned the secret,
the last chance that he and his friends had of getting back home
disappeared, although neither he nor they realized it at the time.
The old Eskimo, now that they had learned something of his secret,
became more friendly and even gave them details of the information that
he claimed to possess. He told them that there was a vessel stranded on
the shore of his northland country and that from it his people got gold
for ornaments and for use at the trading stations.
They had no idea of its real value, however, nor had he had until he
ventured into the land of the white man. Here he had come to learn the
immense value of the gold that lay practically useless in his far
northern homeland, and he had conceived the idea of getting up an
expedition and going in search of it.
In some way Takyak had become acquainted with Captain Garrish, and
eventually had interested him in the quest, although he very wisely
refused to give the exact location of the wreck, having a shrewd
suspicion that the captain might help himself to the treasure if he
could. So now they were bound in quest of it.
But of more than of the treasure itself was the old Eskimo in quest of.
He was desirous of seeing his home country once more. To the boys the
barren northland wastes seemed to present little attraction, but with
the Eskimo it was different, and his eyes held a faraway, wistful look
when he spoke in his queer jargon of home and people. From him the boys
learned that the treasure ship was very old and had been lying on the
sand before the memory of the oldest man in the tribe.
The boys became excited as he described the wealth that lay within the
weather-beaten hulk, but even should the expedition be successful, they
saw little chance of obtaining any of the gold for themselves, and their
longing to be home increased day by day. They resolved many wild schemes
of escape in their minds and resolved to be on the lookout for any
opportunity for getting away that might present itself.
This feeling was lashed almost into a passion by the roughness that
Captain Garrish began to manifest toward them soon after he knew that
they possessed his secret. He grew increasingly surly and ugly, and soon
drove them to tasks far beyond their strength. Blows had not come yet,
but there was no telling when they, too, might be added to the burdens
the lads were bearing.